...templates info for mini basket

Thank you all so much for all of the lovely comments on my Mini Easter basket from yesterday - I have prepared a template which I will be uploading to SCS. I am putting a link in the sidebar in the templates section which will take you straight to the download - It's the only way I know how to do it. Hope it works for you. (Be real helpful if someone could leave a comment to tell me it's working!! Lol - cheers!)

There are a couple of things you should know before you use the template.

• There are two pages in the template. The basket and liner templates are on different pages - two each to the page. I supposed most folks would like the liner to be a different colour to the basket so it seemed pointless to put both basket and liner on the same page.

• There are lots of helpful hints on the templates themselves - save yourself some cardstock by opening the pdf and READING the template pages BEFORE you print!!

I have a couple of pics I took while making my basket which I will share with you here. It's not a full tutorial but I think it gets the idea across.

I would LOVE to see some baskets that you have made - come back and leave a link in the comments to this post if you like.


Above - the basket exterior printed out, cut out, stamped on the non printed side and assembled.


Above - the basket liner printed out, cut out and the centre of each exterior edge marked in pencil.


Above - use the centre mark to start off the scallop in the centre and work out towards each edge, I dislike unsymmetrical scalloping (Nerd Alert, as my best pal would put it...)



Above - folding the liner - Note the spots are stamped on the other side. Note the two pieces of double sided adhesive.


The handle is scored a half inch in from each edge as per the instructions on the template. (I also stamped mine) tuck the ends under the basket before sticking the wee scalloped base on.

Now, embellish at will!! And show me!!

Hope it tickles!!

...something for PTI bloghop Feb 09

The theme of this months PTI Bloghop is spring!! Of course flowers would have been the obvious choice but I don't have any!! Lol. Except for a couple of teeny cuttlebug flower dies - which I used here for the wee blossom on the basket handle.

I made this dinky wee easter basket to my own design - if you fancy having a go, leave me a comment, I could do a template for this quite easily - it's super simple.

It's all PTI of course - Lemon tart and Ocean tides cardstock, Polka dot basics stamped in Ocean tides in on the basket liner and a square fromGuidelines stamped in Versamark on the basket outer. Thwee little flower stamps are from the recent With Sympathy stampset from PTI which is quickly becoming one of my most used sets. The sentiment is from the Mixed messages set.
I cut the tag with a spellbinders label die.

These would make fab little class favours or just a sweet treat for someone you know - I need to make another now for tiny daughter.

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone else's creations - I absolutely love blog hop!! Just hope I can stay awake long enough to get my link up!! Lol, need caffeine...

Hope it tickles.

...a wee announcement

Beverly Nash - the lovely lady who owns Precious Scraps has appointed me as one of her online design team!! I am so excited and happy to be part of the first team and I hope I can pull a few nice things out of the bag for Beverly. I have never been on a design team before and I am so grateful to you Beverly for giving me this chance!!

Also I'm a little bit (hugely) in awe of the company I'll be keeping - there's Niki Estes, Tammi Bennet, Marci Knecht and Nicole Anderson.

Beverly has just opened her brand new 3000sq ft dream store in Dover Tennessee which I know is filled with everything you need!! I know Beverly will be posting more photos of the grand opening soon, which was a huge success.

There will also be an instore design team and classes, If you're in the Dover, Tennessee area you'd be mad to miss a trip to the store.

There will also be an online store soon.

I am in your debt Beverly and I hope I can, in some small way, help to make this venture the huge success you deserve. Hugs.

Claire

...Ribbon border how-to

ED - StampinPam - it's a making memories Slot punch tool that can be used anywhere on the page. Check it out here.

A couple of folks wondered how to do the ribbon border on these cards - I have a pic of the reverse of the top panel here so's you can see how easy this is. I just cut 4 slots where I wanted each corner of the frame to be.

I took a piece of ribbon slightly longer than the distance between two slots and tied a knot in the middle, pulling tight. then I slipped the ends through the slots. I checked the front to make sure the knot lay between the two slots before sticking the ends of the ribbon down. So simple.

I used a slot punch tool but you could just use a craft knife - If you do use a craft knife I suggest that instead of just cutting a slit that you actually cut out a skinny rectangle, the ribbon will need a little room. To find out what length to cut your skinny rectangle, look at your ribbon. Take a ruler and measure across the width of your ribbon at a 45 degree angle. Cut your skinny rectangle just short of this measurement so that the ribbon fills it nicely.

Hope that helps.

Hoping to be back later with a card for the CPS challenge this week!!

In the meantime I'm waiting on my PTI stuff!! This morning the doorbell went just as the big black hairy spider disappeared into the pile of laundry. Like a fool I decided to answer the door in case it was the PTI stuff, chuh! aparently not. Now I have to go through the laundry and find the spidoo.

...blush, blush!!

I was delighted to hear that Nichole picked one of my cards for the GSS comp!!! What's pink and red and jumping up and down with glee...?

Anyhow, coming back down from cloud 9...here's a couple of cards I made when I got 2 mins to play around with the new Simply Stationary set. This is a set with so many possibilities - the problem for me with it will be limiting myself to making stationary with it!!

I adore sets like this that have geometric shapes that I can play around with!!

Inspired by the very lovely Dawn McVey, I went for a spicy combination of summer sunrise, raspberry fizz and dark chocolate!! Kinda like how it turned out - even tho it's quite simple.

Stamped a border with simply stationary, and then added a bit of sheer choc ribbon above the sentiment.

I made the inverted scallops on the top panel using hole punches and added some gold dots with the pen I HAD TO HAVE several releases ago and hadn't used yet!!

The Smile card was made by stamping a medallion with stamps from the Simply stationary set and adding a weeny sentiment cut out with the spiky nestability circles. Sooo easy!! Lol.

Hope they tickle.

...goes for a wee spin

Didn't make any cards today - we went for a drive, thought you might like to have been there!!

Top is Legananny Dolmen a neolithic portal tomb on top of Slieve Croob - around 4000 years old. It really gives me the shivers to visit these things and touch the stones that other folks touched over 4000 years ago.

Middle is Spelga Dam with some sort of funny filter on the camera - it was a bit grey and I thought I'd play with the settings.

Bottom is a typical country road near the Mourne Mountains - It was a pity the day wasn't bit brighter but it was good enough.

Have a Goodie!! (my new favourite phrase after the latest round of PTI stamp releases)

...Dawn's favourites PTI challenge

I so need a light box - I can't seem to get a decent photo these days - even in the natural light!! Anyhow, the PTI challenge for today was that you got to pick a favourite colour combo as showcased by the lovely Dawn McVey on her blog and make a card with those colours - I picked the delicious Raspberry fizz, Dark chocolate and Vintage cream combo from one of her lovely creations and completely ordinarified it. For anyone not fluent in Englirish, I took something beautiful and made it ordinary - I didn't intend to, it's just a gift I have.

I can't tell you how unlike what I had planned, this card is. But it matters not - what does matter is that I got it done just in time to be in with a chance of winning a set of Dawn's magnificent Damask stamp set.

If you click on over to Nichole's you might just have time to squeeze in an entry yourself - have fun.

...happy Valentine's

Barry White was pleasantly rumbling something about "My first, my last..." There were roses in a vase on the table. I could see from halfway down the stairs that everywhere was tidy and clean and the kids had been farmed out to someone who's particular lifestyle precluded any sort of Valentines celebration.

I went into the kitchen and there he was. Mr Brennan, in his Homer Simpson apron, making pancakes for brunch. On Valentines day. Swoon. I could hear a slight buzzing in my ear but took no notice.

I admired the way he flipped the pancakes and I took delight in noting that the table was set for two, a card on my plate, chocolates and maple syrup - the real stuff, not the £1.49 rubbish I usually have to make do with. It was perfect.

I threw my arms around him and puckered up... the buzzing got worse, it turned into a sound - it sounded like somebody calling my name. "MUMMY!!!! MUMMY!!!! WAKE UP...WE'RE HUNGRY"

Yeah, me too kids.

Happy Valentine's Day all!! hope you had a goodie!!

...sympathy card for GSS

Well it's time for the PapertreyInk GSS submissions again - I have only had time to make 3 very fast cards, I usually love to do something for GSS but I seem to have lost a few days somewhere...

Here is my favourite of the three cards I made, I love the Dark chocolate and the summer sunrise together, I felt like the yellow was just the little hint of hope needed on this card.

Anyhow - I made a neat little ribbon border frame (using the Making memories slot punch tool.) for the tiny butterfly image from the With Sympathy set - I love that set - so much usability - I'm looking forward to really playing with it soon. It has to be said I do not like to make sympathy cards, no-one does I'm sure and they're not something I would keep a stock of so I'll be passing these on soon as.

Also - just to let you know, I'm not a total neat freak but I do cover my keyboard in clear cling wrap, it's the sort of keyboard things could fall into and become unretrievable! Anyhow - I noticed that a couple of comments that I left were missing a few vital letters!! I was leaving praise like 'gorgous' and 'weet' till I realised the cling film was too tight!! Lol. Apologies if it was your blog - I meant well!!

...another button

A quick and easy, simple card today that has been jumping up and down in my head for two days. Basic grey Paper from the sugared collection from Beverly at Precious Scraps is the background - Beverly's store is nearing completion - I don't know anyone who works as hard as this lady!!

The word button is stamped with the fresh alphabet by PTI and I wrote the Cute as a button bit.

Love that Raspberry Fizz ink and CS.

I promise, no more buttons, at least till tomorrow. Lol. Gotta run...

...messing about with blog

In case anyone is trying to view this blog - I am knee deep in HTML, a language I don't speak in search of the key to a 3 col layout - hope to resume normal transmission soon - thanks for your patience!!

OK think I'm about done - all I need now is a fancy shmancy header - this is temporary - but its beddy time here. I'll have another go tomorrow.

ED Again- think it's ok now - I went to the Beginners blogging guide and used their guidelines to change my Minima template to a 3 column layout - except that I made my outer wrapper 930, my main is 420 and my sides are 190. Clear? No, me neither, but it seems to work for me.

If you are going to mess around with your blog BACK IT UP FIRST!!!! Go on, ask me how I know!!

hope this helps somebody...

...valentine's card

Made this the other night while footering about with some PTI stamps - It's busy, busy, but it was fun to make - everything is PTI except the brad - papermania I think.

Hope you are all gearing up for a lovely Valentine's day - I've been busy with PTI challenges all week and haven't had a chance to make himself a card yet - must make an effort!! Lol.

Happy Tuesday!!

...PTI challenge card - Friend

Do you ever find that the less time you have to do something, the more complicated it gets? That's what happened yesterday - I had this idea for a card with a big button, and so I made it. I was in a rush 'cos I'd been out all day and had loads to do.

When I finished the card I thought it was lovely but maybe, just maybe, was there just a bit too much going on?

I'm much happier with today's version - I hope no-one minds that I used yesterday's sketch and the same button idea for today's challenge on Nichole's blog!! S'pose it's a bit like cheating but I reckon I can get away with it because it is a brand new card...pssstt! don't tell on me!

Anyhow, used various circle and dot stamps from PTI sets (Polka dot basics, and the new Stationary set) to make a background of button shapes in Versamark on Ocean Tides card. Stitched around it, tied bow etc. Used the 'friends' word stamp from First Fruits (rubbed ink of the 's' before stamping).

Scalloped edge courtesy of Ek success corner rounder, minus guard.

Layered a circular frame on top of the plain circle and punched 4 holes to make the ginormous button - Clear embossed as yesterday's was, and Threaded it with card strips a la Alli Miles.

Scor-pal'ed a couple of oversized stitches down the card behind the button and done.

I have to tell you tho' I'm absolutely hating the new Kraft cardstock that I got from my local office supply - it is a far cooler and greyer shade than my previous batch, ugh! And it photographs awfully. Must find replacement.

Hope it tickles.

...CPS PapertreyInk card

In honour of the fact that PapertreyInk are adding buttons to their stock, I made this oversized button card for the CPS sketch layout that Nichole is encouraging us to join in.

I cut a big circle with a nestie and then punched 4 holes with a making memories anywhere hole punch, couple of coats of clear embossing powder later, voila, large button.

I imagine all you ladies out there with craft robos and cricuts will make a much better job of it than me if you were to use chipboard!!

Threaded it with PTI cream ribbon, Lol. Layered it over a wee pattern stamped with Quilters sampler patchwork block and a design from the new sentiments set that I'm itching to get at. The sentiment is from First fruits - all stamps PTI.

Colours are Kraft card and Ocean tides. Yum.

Incidentaly this card is for my husband, our anniversary is tomorrow!! I love him to pieces!!

Hope it tickles!

PS, here's a pic of the countryside near Dromara in the snow yesterday - we happened to be out that way and it was beautiful.

..PTI Dot to Dot challenge

You probably know this but PapertreyInk are celebrating their second birthday with lots of prizes, today's challenge was a dot to dot sketch card, check it out here.

I just got through making this card and I had a lot of fun. Which was what I needed.

This morning DH announced that he was taking us all for a spin! I hadn't the heart to tell him I would rather have stayed home and made a card for the challenge!!! Having said that we had a lovely day. Small folks were all late to bed this eve and I've only just had time to play.

If I was making it again I don't think I'd bother embossing the vellum panel - it looks way overdone now that I look at it, but hey - if you're not in you can't win!!

Summer sunrise and raspberry fizz cardstocks with PTI Black/white paper and specially purchased pink thread to match!! OOOooHH yum, slight addiction forming.

Have fun.

...love notes

Look what I made with the papers from the Irresistible paper pack from My Mind's Eye - Beverly at Precious Scraps sent me this pack and you can get this paper from Beverly as her brick and mortar and online stores are opening any day now !!!

I covered a tin to present three wee cards in. I want to thank my buddy Serendipity also - the raffia I tied round the tin came in a little box of trinkets that she sent me as a RAK!!!

I have nothing approaching a large flower punch so I cut ovals with my nestabilities and layered them to make a flower shape, a weeny cuttlebug flower makes the centre. Just about everything is edged in versafine scarlet ink.

All of the paper in this wee set is from that one pack. I just used a bit of pink cardstock for the little card bases.

hope it tickles.

...colour challenge card for PTI

OOh! PapertreyInk are celebrating their second birthday with competitions on Nichole's blog - today's is a colour challenge - I made this quick card for it since I didn't have as much time as yesterday, but at least I'm in!!

The prize is loads and loads of PTI cardstock!!

I punched circles out of post it notes and used them to mask the card - then I stamped in the specified colours. I also sponged with lemon tart, Spring moss, Aqua mist and pure poppy to further define the circles - In the green circle I masked a smaller circle off aswell to act as a place for the sentiment. The 'hello' is from mixed messages - love that wee set.

Pure poppy mat and ribbon and there it is.

Can't wait to see what everyone else has done.

hope it tickles.

...Berry bag tutorial

I was more than a little surprised to see all the lovely comments about my Berry bag - Thank you all so much!! The 'In the bag' challenge was a fab idea!! Can't wait to see what's next at PTI as they celebrate their second Birthday!!

Here is the tutorial for the berry bag - hope it is clear enough, it's been a long day and it's way past my bedtime!!Lol!! Hopefully if you click on the pic it'll get bigger.

Step 1 Cut 2 pieces of fabric, The band is 2 inches by 16.5 inches and the body is 16.5 inches by 8.25 inches - these are the outside of your bag. You may also like to cut the lining fabric at this time - 16.5 inches by 9.25 inches. Set the lining aside.

Step 2 Stamp your pattern - I chose to do berries on the body fabric and a sentiment and heart along the centre of the band. I used PTI Palette inks and heat set with the iron. Please chose your band decoration and ribbon carefully - for example, broader ribbon would have obstructed the sentiment on my bag.

Step 3 Take a piece of co-ordinating ribbon, and lay it along the bottom edge of the band, trim to the same length as the band. - I used Ripe Avocado saddle stitch, also PTI.

Step 4 Carefully flip over the band and ribbon and lay them right sides together on top of the body fabric. - make sure all edges are lined up - you might like to pin the fabric layers together at this step.

Step 5 Sew the three layers together using a quarter inch seam allowance. Fold open the fabric and press - I pressed my ribbon towards the band fabric at this point. Lay another length of ribbon along the top edge of the band to make another ribbon border.

Step 6 Cut a 10 inch length of ribbon for the hanging loop and fold it in half. Lay the raw edges together a quarter inch in from the Left hand side on top of the ribbon border. See photo for position. It's a good idea to pin here. Lay the lining fabric on top of the ribbon border - making sure all raw edges are aligned. Sew together using a quarter inch seam allowance.

Step 7 Open out the fabric and press. I pressed so that the ribbon turned towards the sentiment on the band. I wanted the sadlestitch ribbon detail as a border for the sentiments. I found that the ribbon behaved well and lay flat.

Step 8 fold the fabric in half so that the sides meet - align the raw edges and make sure the hanging loop is tucked away inside away from the edge.

Steps 9 - 10 Sew down the edge - again with a quarter inch seam allowance. Sew also along the open edge of the stamped fabric body. Leave the lining fabric open at the end. Your bag should look like pic 10 now.

Step 11 Put your hand up into the bag and ease the bag shape open, try to make the bag a slightly square shape - you will find that the corners turn into two triangular 'flaps' - see pic 11.

Step 12 Stitch across the flaps to give your bag that square bottom base, see pic 12 for help.

Step 13 Turn the bag right side out and admire your square posterior!!

Step 14 Go to the two remaining raw edges at the end of the lining fabric section and fold them in on themselves, fold them back by around a quarter of an inch, press with the iron to help keep them in place. Stitch the lining closed now.

At this point you can choose to just stuff the lining down into the patterned fabric section and that's your bag finished (you will find the lining a little full if you do this - but it helps the bag stand up), or do the little footery corner trick that I did so's your bag has a square lining as well as a square base - call me ultra fussy!!

Step 15 Poke the corners of the lining in on themselves and pinch the fabric together to create a new opening. See pic 15 for help, and see the tip below. This is a little footery but worth it. You want push the corner in far enough so that the 'square' you are making in the lining fabric is roughly the same as the one in the patterned fabric. Sew across the new opening and repeat with the other corner. Now when you push the lining down into the bag the square base will be nice and neat inside and out!!

TIP - if you poke the corners in too far, you will find that the lining falls short of the base - I prefer to poke the corners in a little less than I think I need to - I would prefer the lining being a tad baggy on the inside rather than find that when I fill the bag the outside is rumpled at the bottom.

Step 16 Now - take a photo of your lovely bag and try not to let anyone mess up the shot!! Lol - have fun.

Please note - I used pre-washed calico cotton fabric and I offer these instructions in good faith, this is exactly what I did. You may get different results with other types of fabric. Please use the seam allowances I have given - this makes a huge difference and also be scrupulously careful about measuring your fabric. I'm drawing your attention to this because with stitching projects there are so many variables that I can't be responsible for. Good luck.

...Berry bag for the Papertrey challenge

Ed - The background is a roll of brown wrapping paper and the inks are all PTI palette inks, heat set with an iron - hope that helps.


Over on Nichole's blog - PapertreyInk are celebrating their 2nd birthday!! today's challenge theme was 'In the bag!'

Had an hour to spare this morning so I made this little bag for that challenge. I used the My punny valentine set in Pure poppy and Ripe avocado inks on plain calico, and detailed with a touch of ribbon.

I made it to hold my girls' hair scrunchies but it's good for toiletries too. There's a handy hanging loop at the back so you can hook it over a doorknob etc or it can sit flat on a surface - I made it with a square bottom for that purpose.

If you think you'd like to make one, leave a comment and I'll try to do a how-to - I already owe you a how-to but I'll try to get them done before week's end.

Hope it tickles.

...a wee smiley face

Way back ages ago I hopped through a blog belonging to someone who had made a frankenstein card using the nestabilities. It stuck in my head and I'm sorry I can't put a name to it but it inspired me to make this for my big girl.

It's all PTI cardstock, and the stamps? Well they're all lurking in the wise owl set by Alli Miles, who excitingly will be designing more stamp sets this year!! can't wait, love her stuff!!!!!

I used brads to attach the ponytails so that I can make them move up and down!! My big girl (9!!! yikes!!) absolutely loved it.

Hope it tickles

...stampy stampy stampy

After seeing the awesome work of one KMW ( I know not who) during the recent GSS comp over at PTI I wanted to make wee patterns - this card uses the guidelines set together with Boxes bags and tags and also the wee star out of Silent night. Simple but I think it's a pretty wee pattern.

Colours are Spring moss and the purply colour the name of which escapes me just at the moment. Oh yes, Plum pudding.

Simple but suitable for a wee thank you note.

By the way, I do hope you are following the celebrations at PTI - some awesome giveaways so far!!

In case you are still reading I am mindfull of the fact that I promised a how to for my tower boxes, I will try to be really good and get this done in the next day or two.

 

Waffle

If you are really bored it may interest you to know that I have the sort of eyebrows that any self respecting neanderthal would have been proud of. My mother used to say, in all sincerity, and with a straight face, "You have good strong hair." Any of you who have been a teenager will know that this was not the sentiment required.

It thus followed that the over-sensitive teenager became convinced that unless the head hair was grown long, passers by might just mistake same teenager for a male of the species. This seemed all the more likely at the time given that the said teenager was greatly under-upholstered, indeed the attractive term 'scrawny' was often used.

And so my hair has been long for what feels like forever. Today I got it cut as short as it has been in 20 years and I can't decide whether I like it or not. DH thinks it's lovely, or else has been taking tips on lying from the interrogation section of my daugher's "Famous Five handbook". Larger daughter said it was 'cute' but then wanted chocolate biscuits immediately. Smaller daughter said it was horrible, but then everything was horrible today because the snow didn't lie and we couldn't make snowmen.

It seems the only truth to be had was when the hairdresser turned to my two year old and asked him what he thought of mummy's hair. The big green eyes looked up into mine and as the smile spread across his face he said "Mummy pretty." Yep, it has been a very good day.

...something softer

ED - 2 feb 09 Hi Terri, I have a Pfaff Quiltstyle - the purple one - it's a great workhorse.

After yesterdays brightness, thought it was time for a little relaxation - had this idea floating about for ages and was far too lazy to lug the sewing machine downstairs to do it! I stitched a few lines of fancy stitching on the cardstock and added a sentiment, what could be easier?

The card uses the new kraft card that my local printing supply has started to stock and I'm not crazy 'bout it - the previous stuff was a much warmer tone - but it works ok.

The sentiment is from PTI quilters sampler and all of the stitching was done in cream Guttenberg cotton thread. The buttons came from Beverly - who is opening a store any day now!!!

Oh yeah - and that's another Alli Miles - idea - the use of paper strips to thread your buttons!! Isn't that a neat idea??

Think I might try this card in 'colour' later.

Hope it tickles, and thank you ladies and gents for all your lovely coments - they really spur me on to try to make interesting things.